Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day a wee bit early, Danú (above) heads back to the Basie boards on Sunday. Jim Norton (below) brings his brand of East Coast comedy to Red Bank Thursday night. (Click to enlarge)
A shot of standup from a metro-area favorite with national cred; a dose of street-corner soul, and an authentic evocation of St. Pat’s spirit… all in a typically eclectic week’s work at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre.
It’s a slate that begins Thursday night when standup guy, sitcom wildcard and “serious” broadcaster Jim Norton takes the stage of a venue that’s become a “must” booking for breakout touring comedians.
Presented by SiriusXM Radio (for whom the comic co-hosts the Opie Radio show), the 8 p.m. whistlestop on the “Mouthful of Shame Tour” finds the hardworking laffmeister (who’s not to be confused with the greater Green’s own trivia master Gentleman Jim Norton, currently holding down the Saturday night fort at Tommy’s Coal Fired Pizza) at an enviable juncture in his career. The aforementioned satellite gig, a couple of bestselling books, a trio of streaming standup specials on Hulu, and regular appearances on shows like Louie and Inside Amy Schumer have connected new audiences with the veteran radio provocateur turned almost-cuddly king of various media. Take it here for tickets ($25 – $85).
Continuing a series that’s captured the fancy of area transplants from places like north Jersey, the Bronx and Brooklyn, An Evening of Old Time Doo Wop Vol. 4 transforms the Basie boards into a streetcorner from the old neighborhood Saturday night. The show highlights Fred Parris and the Satins (the 21st century lineup of the combo who gave us the smooth crooner “In the Still of the Night”), the Mystics (the harmonizing “Hushabye”) and the Legendary Teenagers (performing “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” and other hits by the late Frankie Lymon). Cool Bobby B of Sirius Radio’s 50s on 5 emcees, with further scheduled acts (subject to change, as per the publicity) including the Original Tymes (“So In Love”), the Jarmels (“A Little Bit of Soap”), Jimmy Stephens of the Tokens, and the non-singing guitar ace Johnny Farina (who with his brother Santo created the instrumental smash “Sleep Walk” in 1959). Tickets to the 7 p.m. show ($10 – $60) available right here.
It wouldn’t be March on Monmouth Street without a major tip of the hat to Irish music, movement and culture — and on Sunday evening, the Basie stage is graced by one of the finest traditional Celtic ensembles around. Appearing in Red Bank for the first time since a December 2013 show fronted by the vocals of Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Danú offers up a St. Patrick’s celebration that’s also part of a 20th anniversary victory lap for the still-young whippersnappers (with a roster change or two along the way).
It’s a musical history lesson of the Emerald Isle, performed with simple-but-stunningly effective arrangements (fiddle, flutes, button accordion and traditional percussion), thankfully minus the casino-style bombast that infuses other touring Irish entertainments. Take it here for tickets ($20 – $45) to the 7 p.m. concert.
